Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, right, celebrates with Cam Fowler after the Ducks defeated the New Jersey Devils, 2-1, on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

The Ducks' Andrew Cogliano, right, collides with New Jersey Devils goatender Keith Kinkaid as Devils' Damon Severson, back, looks on during the third period on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

The New Jersey Devils' Mike Cammalleri, right, shoots the puck under Ducks goaltender Frederik Anderson for a goal as the Ducks' Cam Fowler, left, attempts to block the shot during the third period on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

Ducks goaltender Frederik Anderson makes a save as the New Jersey Devils' Sergey Kalinin, left, and the Ducks' Sami Vatanen watch during the second period on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

NEWARK, N.J. – Before John Gibson tries to run off with the Ducks’ net and keep it to himself, Frederik Andersen got a hold of it Saturday night and showed that he was prepared to not just give it away.

Making his first start in nearly a month, Andersen stopped 21 shots to make it a victorious one and the Ducks supported him with goals from Chris Stewart and Ryan Kesler in a 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

Andersen had not been the goalie of choice since Nov. 21 at Tampa Bay. The third-year netminder incurred a bad case of the flu and missed a full of week of games and workouts, opening the door for Gibson to make eight consecutive starts.

With the opportunity given to him, Andersen responded with a sharp performance. Mike Cammalleri got the only puck past him with his one-timer making it a one-goal game with 4:34 left in regulation.

“It felt great,” Andersen said. “You always get excited when you haven’t played for a long time, more so when it’s been that long. I was really excited on the bus here. This one felt good.”

Even as they’re now known as a last-place team, the Ducks (12-14-5) stopped a two-game losing streak and are amazingly only three points out of playoff positioning in the muddled Pacific Division. They managed to score more than one goal for the second time in six games.

But they’re pretty good when they actually work with a lead. The Ducks improved to 9-0-1 when leading after two periods, and they got that edge due to the work of Stewart and Kesler in the opening period.

Stewart fired wide on an initial try coming from off the right wing but stuck with the play on a strong shift by the fourth line and got a kind bounce when his pass from behind the net went off Devils defenseman Eric Gelinas and slipped by Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid.

“I had a little bit of justice there,” Stewart said. “I kind of lost it there at the last second. But we were in their end for a good 30, 40 seconds, just cycling and protecting and took it to the net. I just tried to get it to the front of the net and got a good bounce.

“We stuck with it. It just goes to show you if you play with the right intention, the hockey gods bless you with a goal there.”

And in the final seconds of the first, the Ducks took advantage of New Jersey’s early mistake-laden play in its own end. Adam Larsson tried to ring the puck around the boards but Corey Perry intercepted it and quickly gave a pass to Kesler in front of the net.

Kesler was stopped on his initial shot but followed right up by firing in a rebound by the fallen Kinkaid for a 2-0 edge. It was the first goal in eight games for the 11-year veteran and only his fourth of the season.

“It was a good feeling,” Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. “I thought our guys before the game really sounded ready. I had a good feeling that they were going to come out in the first period and be pretty solid.

“We haven’t had a fluky goal like that go in for us – I don’t know if it’s (been) one this year. It was nice to see us get a break on the first goal and a great play by Corey and Kes on the second goal.”

And that was enough for Andersen, who wasn’t overly taxed but also showed no sign of rust. He did relieve Gibson eight days ago, playing the third period of a 5-1 home loss to Carolina.

“He looked solid to me,” Boudreau said. “I don’t think he had to make … like at the beginning of the year, he was making five- and 10-bell saves a game. He didn’t have to do that.

“He sure was steady and he gave us a lot of confidence that he was going to stop the puck every time it came at him.”

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